"Smaller steps"
So often issues are created in riding and in horse care because the steps we take are too big for the horse, horses work in the minutia, they don't have access to media, social or otherwise, they don't clump their lives in to bigger and bigger chunks just to get stuff done, horses don't really get bored, they get confused, but not bored! Their brains are built to study the detail, the every increasing detail, not to chunk it up into big bits to try and get the result.
Every request we ask of our horse requires many many small actions, small actions of our body and of theres, all coming together as one to create what is perceived as the simple request for the horse to walk on, but when we really break it down into the detail we see how much understanding there needs to be before we achieve this with clarity and calmness.
When you ride, you may fall into the hole of "getting a lot done' or "feeling like you've worked" I certainly used to do this, and it's a constant battle in my own mind to slow this need to feel productive down, productivity doesn't need to look like a hot sweaty horse at the end and an exhausted rider, productivity should look more like an understanding, that you got something to make a little more sense than it did before you started.
So let's give you something to think about, take the thing you are "struggling" with at the moment, how many tiny pieces can you break it down into?
For example, the canter transition, here's a list of all the things that need to be 100% before we achieve a balanced, calm canter transition:
Horse
Understand to respond to the leg aid by pushing with the hind legs
Understand that what a true inside bend feels like
Be able to balance in walk and trot through a corner, without speeding up or slowing down
Be bale to carry a rider comfortably in sitting trot, without tensing the back or loosing their balance
Be able to canter independently on a lunge line with no rider, in a balanced way on both reins, maintaining correct bend through their body
Understand that outside leg of the ride is relevant to hind leg of the horse
Understand voice aid of canter
Rider
Be able to sit trot in a soft, balanced way to different speeds of trot without loosing balance
Be able to ride a corner in a balanced way on both reins in walk, rising trot and sitting trot
Be able to move legs independently of one another and not create tension in the seat
Be able to apply the leg aid without creating tension in the hips
Not need to reins for any sort of balance
Be able to ask the horse to bend, from the ribcage and not the neck
Be able to ride an upwards and downwards transition in the walk-trot, tort-walk and not loose balance (ideally without reins)
Be able to have a conversation with their horse that gets the correct answer with minimal force
Have cantered on a lunge without reins where they have worked on their own seat and balance in the canter
There's probably a few more, but all of the above are vital to be able to achieve a clean, clear, and balanced transition to canter on both reins, if you are struggling with your canter transition you need to gently work through this list (not all in one go) one bullet point for 20minutes at a time. So if you only have 25minutes to ride, you work on 1 bullet point, if you have 1 hour you work on 3 bullet points maximum.
All the time making sure you and your horse have full understanding of each bullet point in the most defined detail. Only then start to add a few bullet points together, thesis where chunking can happen, but not until the details have been covered.
By doing this you are working with your horse at a level that they understand, you aren't skipping vital parts and expecting the horse to "just get it", nor are you expecting your body to 'just do it"
So for this weekend, can you create a list like this on something you are struggling with?
This is now a sketched blue print of your work.
Happy Playing
Kommentare